Quality and Safety in Healthcare, Part XCIII: Design for Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma

Health Information Technology (HIT)
Health Information Technology, commonly called HIT, integrates advanced information systems and technology in healthcare settings. Its primary functions include:

Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a method used to monitor and control quality within processes, particularly in manufacturing and service delivery, by employing statistical methods. SPC aims to distinguish between natural (common cause) variation and variation due to specific changes or events (special cause), allowing for timely improvements and sustained quality. The control chart, a pivotal tool in SPC, visually displays data over time alongside a central line of upper and lower control...

Essential infection prevention measures are based on the knowledge of the infection chain, the modes of transmission in healthcare settings, and the use of the best practices in all healthcare settings. Compulsory public reporting of healthcare-associated infection rates is needed to allow individuals and the community to make informed choices regarding selecting a healthcare facility.
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...

At the different levels of the healthcare system, we see varying methods of healthcare used. These methods include managed care systems, case management, and primary healthcare.
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...

Nursing Clinical Information System (NCIS)
A Nursing Clinical Information System (NCIS) is a specialized type of healthcare information system tailored to meet the unique needs of nursing practice. It incorporates the principles of nursing informatics to streamline information management and improve the quality of care delivery.
Critical attributes of NCIS include:

Quality control is one of the three cyclical quality assurance activities that help keep a system under statistical control. Typical quality control activities include creating quality control charts, conducting proficiency testing, and documenting and archiving results.
Quality control helps track data, visualize trends, and identify variations, making it easier to detect deviations that may affect the accuracy of an analysis. One way to do this is by generating a quality control chart, which...